Combined reinforced door-frame and vestibule member.



S W. FISH.

COMBINED REINFORCED DOOR FRAME AND VESTIBULE MEMBER.

APPLIUATION FILED JAN. 2, 1908.

903,281 Patented Nov. 10, 1908.

Witnesses.- In ventor;

l Samuel "{Figh V @f 13) his Attorney, I I V UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

SAMUEL W. FISH, OF PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO MANGANESE STEELSAFE COMPANY, OF PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

COMBINED REINFORCED DOOR-FRAME AND VESTIBULE MEMBER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 10, 1908.

Application filed January 2, 1908. Serial No. 409,039.

To all whom "it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL IV. FISH, a citizen of the United States,residing in Plainfield, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a CombinedReinforced Door-Frame and Vestibule Member, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to burglar-proof vaults, and particularly to thatkind of vault which is made up of a number of members or plates fastenedtogether, the object of the present invention being to provide acombined integrzi l. vestibule-forming member and doorframe which willbe sufliciently stiff to hold its shape and which will be less eX-pensive to manufacture, will weigh less, and will take up less space inthe banking room than these parts as heretofore constructed.

In the patent granted to Henry D. Hibbard January 8, 1907, No. 840,490,an improved vestibule for vaults is shown, but in this construction, aswill be seen from an inspection of Figs. 4 and 5, it is necessary toconnect thereto the door-frame member in order to furnish a means forcarrying the door. In the present improvement, however, the door-frameand the vestibule-forming member are of one integral structure, but asin vaults of large size the casting for the combined vestibule anddoor-frame is a very massive one, it follows that unless the structureis reinforced in a particular manner it would not be possible to usesuch a structure, owing to its weakness and to the fact that under thegreat weight of the door the casting would sag at the underside of thedoor. Furthermore, when unmachineable metal, such for instance asmanganese steel, is used, it would not be practicable to cast such amassive casting and then heat treat it unless the reinforcement was ofsuch a character and located in such a manner that it would notinterfere with these steps in the manufacture of the casting.

AS stated in the patent to Hibbard hereinbefore referred to: Vaults oflarge size are necessarily made up of a number of plates, members orcastings suitably connected or fastened together edgewise, and suchvaults require and are furnished with doors of sufii cient size toenable them to be readily entered by the users thereof, in consequenceof which it has been found that that particular member or casting inwhich the doorway is formed has a tendency to sag, owing to the factthatwhen the casting is made with a large part of the metal necessarilyremoved to form the doorway there is insufficient metal left around suchdoorway to give stiffness and rigidity to the casting sufiicient toprevent it from sagging, the remaining part of the metal in such platebeing insuflicient to support or retain such a large casting in itsnormal shape, and this sagging has taken place to such an extent thatthe door when circular becomes out of round, in other words, does notfit true in its j amb, requiring considerable effort to close it andalso adjustment of the door at various times to in sure the closingthereof in a proper manner. This sagging is also assisted to a largeextent by the weight of the roof of the vaults, and as it isimpracticable and undesirable, and at times impossible, to increase thethickness of this particular casting of the vault to any appreciableextent beyond the thickness of the other castings making up the body itfollows that when the plate or casting is formed with a large doorway oropening therein it must be stiffened in some practicable manner withoutincreasing the thickness of the metal, which in a manganese-steel vaultis usually only about three inches thick.

In those structures Where the doorway is of substantially the same sizeas the body of the vault and where the vault-body is made as an integralstructure the door-frame, which, as stated, is integral with the body,is of ample strength and stiffness; but where it is necessary, as in thebuilding of large vaults, to construct them of several members orcastings, and where the door must necessarily be of less size than thefront of the vault, it is essential that that particular casting inwhich the doorway is formed shall be of great rigidity and strength forthe reasons hereinbefore stated. It is also fre quently desirable, inorder to decrease the number of joints, and thereby the number offastenings, to form the front or the front member of the vault of aslarge a casting as possible; but it is not practicable, nor necessary,nor desirable, to provide a doorway, and therefore a door, of the samesize, so that it becomes a material object and advantage to provide astructure in which the door may be considerably smaller than the frontor front plate of the vault and yet be sufliciently large to enableentrance of one or more persons to the vault.

But in the Hibbard patent the advantages referred to were accomplishedby the formation of a vestibule member separate from the door-frameitself, .which required that the door-frame 'be connected by a jointwith such vestibule-forming member.

The object of the present invention is the provision of a structurewhich will enable the formation of the vestibule member and thedoor-frame as one integral structure, thus doing away with all jointsbetween the door-frame and the vestibule-forming member. But, ashereinbefore stated, owing to the massiveness of such a casting, such anintegral structure could not be furnished unless formed and reinforcedin such a man nor that the door-frame would not sag under the tremendousweight of the door and the roof of the vault, especially as this weightis materially increased in the present instance by the added portions orvestibuleforming part of the casting. To provide a combined vestibuleand door-frame so reinforced that the reinforcement will not in any wayinterfere with the casting or heat treatment of the casting is thereforean object of the present invention.

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification,Figure 1 is a perspective rear View of this combined doorway andvestibule-forming member; Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view thereoflooking from the front of such member; and Fig. 3 is a view looking intothe interior of the jamb, with a part thereof broken away.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in thedifferent figures of the drawings.

The present improved structure, which is designated herein as a combinedvestibuleforming member and door-frame, comprises an integral castingconsisting in its preferred form of a plurality, shown herein as a pair,of rearwardly extending plates or members 2, 3, in the present structurecomprising the top and bottom plates of the ves-' tibule portion A and aplurality of laterally extending members 4, 5, comprising in the presentinstance the two front walls of such vestibule-forming member, each ofwhich plates 2, 3 and 4, 5 is provided with some suitable means forsecuring the structure to the other members of the vault. In the presentinstance this means consists of projections or lugs 6 east along theedge of the plates for the reception of shrunk-on-links, as in theHibbard patent hereinbefore re ferred to. Projecting forwardly from andintegrally connected with these plates forming the vestibule is a frontwall 7, shown as curved, forming the door-frame B, this front wallterminating in a rearwardly extending flange 8 and preferably aforwardly extending flange 9, which form the jamb ,of the doorway. Bythe provision of these forwardly and rearwardly extending flanges arelatively long j amb is provided, and moreover, the casting is so madethat it is not too thick at any part to prevent the proper heattreatment thereof when formed of manganese steel.

The structure so far described, however,

would not be efficient in use in very largesize vaults, because of thetremendous weight of the casting, which, when combined with the weightof the door and of the top or roof of the vault located adjacentthereto, would cause the doorway to sag, and therefore, in order toprevent this, and to enable the door-frame and vestibule. to be made asone integral structure, it is necessary, as hereinbefore stated, toproperly reinforce the structure, and to do this without materiallyincreasing the massiveness thereof or increasing the thickness of itswalls so as not to interfere, when it is made of manganese steel, withthe proper heat treatment of the casting, a three-inch thickness ofcasting being, as is now well known, about the limit in thickness to getsatisfactory results in heat treatment. In the present instance thisreinforcement is obtained by providing a pair of stiffening pillars inthe form of plates 10, 11, shown in the present instance as verticallylocated between the top and bottom plates 2 and 3 of the vestibulemember and extending rearwardly from the side or front plates 4 and 5 ofsuch member, and preferably integrally connected, in other words, castwith the structure. Of course, if the plates 2 and '3 constituted,instead of the top and bottom plates, two side walls, then thesestiffening members would run hori- Zontally. The inwardly extendingflange 8 of the door jamb is also connected by stiffening webs or ribs13 at intervals around the same with these pillars and the adjacentwalls of the casting. In the present instance these connecting portionsare shown as four in number, one running to each pillar and one to thetop and bottom plates of the vestibule. Thus, the recess which it isdesirable to have between the inwardly extending flange 8 and theadjacent walls of the casting is still retained, while the doorframe isproperly supported at intervals, at part of this support for the doorjamb being received from the reinforcing pillars, so that the latter notonly support, reinforce and stiffen the vestibule portion of thecasting, but also the door jamb itself. These stiffening members 10 and11 act in a similar way to a pair of posts or pillars the lower ends ofwhich rest upon the bottom plate forming a part of the floor of thevault, while the tops thereof engage the top mem I ber forming a part ofthe roof of the vault, and from these members a pair of the connectingwebs which assist in sustaining the door-frame extend, as hereinbeforestated. The pillars are shown located away from the edge of thelaterally extending plates at,

From the foregoing it will be seen that this improved vestibule formingmember and door-frame is made up of a structure comprising fourrearwardly extending members or plates rigidly connected together, thesebeing the top and bottom plates 2 and and the reinforcing ribs ormembers 10 and 11, thus forming a box-like structure, from which.project at the sides thereof a pair of plates or members which form,with the reinforcing ribs, an angularly formed structure, whileforwardly from this structure projects the front wall. of the doorframecurved inwardly and connected with which is the door jamb itself, which,when a long jamb is desired, is obtained by forming a rearwardly andforwardly extending liange, the rearwardly extending flange or whichextends into the vestibule and is connected with the box-like structurehereinbefore referred. to by the desired number of webs. Thus, each partof the structure reinforces the other part, the pillars or reinforcingribs stitiening the top of the vault and also the d cor-frame andenabling the formation of a door-frame and vestibule made up of anintegral structure, heretofore not deemed practicable or possible inlarge vaults.

I claim as my invention:

1. A combined door-frame and vestibulet'orming member comprising anintegral casting made up of a pair of rearwardly extending plates, apair of laterally extending plates, a door-frame having a jamb, and apair of pillars connecting the rearwardly extending plates.

2. A combined door-frame and vestibuletorming member comprising anintegral casting made up of a pair of rearwardly extending plates, apair of laterally extending plates, a door-frame having a jamb, and avpair of pillars connecting the rearwardly extending plates away from theedges of the laterally extending plates.

A combined door-frame and vestibuletorming member comprising an integralcasting made up of a pair of rearwardly extending plates, a pair oflaterally extending plates, a door-frame having a jamb, a pair ofpillars connecting the rearwardly extending plates, and webs connectingthe pillars with the door 4. A combined door-frame and vestibuleformingmember comprising an integral casting made up of a pair of rearwardlyextending plates, a pair of laterally extending plates, a doorframehaving a jamb, a pair of pillars connecting the rearwardly extendingplates, and webs connecting the rearwardly extending plates with thedoor jamb.

A combined door-frame and vestibule- 1"orming member comprising anintegral casting made up of a pair of rearwardly extending plates, apair of laterally extending plates, a door-frame having a jamb, a pairof pillars connecting the rearwardly extending plates, and websconnecting the pillars and the rearwardly extending plates with the dooramb.

(3. A combined door-frame and vestibulet'orming member comprising anintegral casting made up of a pair of rearwardly extending members orplates, a pair of laterally extending members or plates each havingmeans for the reception of tastenings along its edge, and a pair ofpillars or stittening members located between said rearwardly extendingplates.

7. A combined door-frame and vestibuleforming member comprising anintegral casting made up of a top and bottom rearwardly extending membera pair of later ally extending members forming portions of the front ofthe vestibule, and pillars connecting the top and bottom members andforming with such top and bottom members a box-like structure.

8. A combined door-frame and vestibuleitorming member comprising anintegral casting made up of a top and bottom rearwardly extendingmember, a pair of laterally extending members forming portions of thefront of the vestibule, and pillars connecting the top and bottommembers away from the edges of said laterally extending members andforming with such top and bottom members a box-like structure.

9. A combined door-frame and vestibuleforming member comprising anintegral casting made up of a top and bottom rearwardly extendingmember, a pair of later ally extending members forming portions of thefront of the vestibule, and pillars connecting the top and bottommembers and forming with such top and bottom members a box-likestructure, said structure having a forwardly extending wall providedwith a door amb.

10. A combined door-frame and vestibuleforming member comprising anintegral casting made up of a top and bottom rearwardly extendingmember, a pair of laterally extending members forming portions of thefront of the vestibule, and pillars connecting the top and bottommembers and forming with such top and bottom members a box-likestructure, said structure having a forwardly extending wall providedwith a door jamb comprising an inwardly extending flange.

11. A combined door-frame and vestibule- ,forming member comprising anintegral casting made up of a top and bottom rearwardly extendingmember, a pair of laterally extending members forming portions of thefront of the vestibule, and pillars connecting the top and bottommembers and forming with such top and bottom members a box-likestructure, said structure having a forwardly extending wall providedwith a door jamb comprising an inwardly extending flange web-connectedwith said structure.

12. A safe or vault casting comprising oppositely located plates andpillars connecting said opposed plates, said casting having an integralfront projecting forwardly of such plates.

13. A safe or vault casting made up of oppositely located plates andhaving means for attachment to companion plates of the vault, andpillars connecting said opposed plates, said casting having an integraldoor jamb formed by a rearwardly extending flange located adjacent tosaid pillars.

14. A safe or vault casting having means for attachment to companionplates of a vault and made up of oppositely located overhanging platesand laterally extending plates, and pillars connectingsaid opposedplates, the pillars also being connected to said laterally extendingplates.

15. A vault casting made up of oppositely located plates and an integraldoor jamb, and pillars supporting said opposed plates and locatedinteriorly of the casting between the door jamb and the outer edges ofthe plates.

16. A vault casting made up of oppositely located plates and an integraldoor jamb, and pillars supporting said opposed plates and locatedinteriorly of the casting between the door jamb and the outer edges ofthe plates, said edges carrying means for attaching the structure tocompanion plates of the vault.

17. A casting for a vault comprising a vestibule having its inner freeedges adapted for attachment to avault body and having an integralforwardly extending front having an integral door jamb extendingtransversely to such front.

18. A casting for a vault having its inner free edges adapted forattachment to a vault body and comprising opposed overhanging members,and stiffening means between said members, said casting having anintegral forwardly extending front provided with an integral door jambextending transversely to such front.

'19. A member for a vault, comprising a box-like casting having itsinner free edges adapted for attachment to a vault body and having aforwardly projecting front provided with an integral door jamb extendingrearwardly into such box-like structure and connected at its sides withsaid. structure.

20. A member for a vault, comprising a box-like structure adapted forattachment to a vault body and having in front thereof and integraltherewith a vault front having a doorway therein, the jamb of whichdoorway extends rearwardly into said box-like structure, a part of saidbox-like structure extending laterally and exteriorly thereof.

21. A combined door frame and vestibule, comprising a casting having aplurality of pillar-stiflened plates and adapted for attachment to themain body of the vault to form therewith a vestibule and having aforwardly projecting vault front provided with an elongated door amb.

22. A combined door-frame and vestibule, comprising a casting having aplurality of pillar-stiffened plates and means for attachment to themain body of the vault to form a vestibule, andalso having a forwardlyprojecting integral vault front.

SAMUEL l/V. FISH.

WVitnesses:

HENRY D. HIBBARD, L. R. LAYTON.

